#5 = young adult fantasy. Set at a school for magicians (this trope is overdone although it's not, necessarily a deal breaker) and the pitch paragraph is weakly written. PASS #5QueriesIn5Tweets

#4 = adult science fiction. Paragraph one is a listed description of six characters. They sound interesting but there's no pitch - what do they do? what's the conflict? PASS #5QueriesIn5Tweets

#3 = middle grade fantasy. One protagonist is a 10yr old (great!) and one protagonist is her mother (not great for middle grade). Description of the plot is awkward. PASS #5QueriesIn5Tweets

#2 = contemporary romance. Good details on the heroine but nothing on the hero/ love interest. Also, no hint at a happy ever after so my gut says this is women's fiction and not romance. PASS #5QueriesIn5Tweets

#1 = middle grade fantasy. Fantasy elements are interesting but the query is long and rambling (2 pages) and writer admits it's not finished yet. PASS #5QueriesIn5Tweets

#5QueriesIn5Tweets = PASS means I will pass on asking to read the manuscript. ACCEPT means I will ask to read the first 50 pages.

#5QueriesIn5Tweets is an anonymous, high-level response to queries in my slush pile. No, there's nowhere to "submit." Just read the twitter feed and enjoy!

#5QueriesIn5Tweets is based on a twitter thread I used to run called...wait for it... #10QueriesIn10Tweets ;)

I'm going for a slightly shorter version and we'll see how it goes...

And starting March 1, #500queries will be back!

I've got a #QueryWin today! YA Fantasy query with a balance of high stakes and voice that made me need to read the pages! Yay!

Q10) MG. Premise sounds adventurous and fun and features one of my fave places. Alas sample opens with passive telling. Pass.

Q9) mystery but lacks genre expectations. The premise has potential for a more literary thriller. Sample starts with ennui info dump. Pass.

Q8) Political thriller. Just not my thing. But premise doesn’t sound fresh and sample not wowing me. Pass.

Q7) MG fantasy. Bit cliched premise and sample pages weren’t wow. Pass.

Q6) Historical YA? Sample was well written but ultimately the stakes and character arc didn’t stand out. For Hist why this time? What abt this story/era is needed in today’s readers’ hands.

Q5) MG. Premise has potential but already see some plausibility issues. Pass. Understand your target market inside and out, esp for kidlit.

Q4) Another query for something I don’t represent. Pass.

Q3) mislabeled WF. Could be an interesting premise if done properly. But nothing in query or first page wowed me. Pass

Q2) looks like sci-fi but labeled generically. Low word count says to me the work needs further development and revisions. Pass.

Q1) something I do not represent. Automatic pass. Be sure you read agent profiles and know what they are looking for.